Stadium seat trash bag

ABSTRACT

A stadium seat trash bag is provided. The trash bag is removably attached by adhesive or other means to the back of a stadium seat and used to collect debris that normally is deposited on the floor of an entertainment stadium. The trash bag may also be used as an advertising or decorative medium.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This patent relates to a waste receptacle for use in spots andentertainment venues having stadium type seats.

2. Description of the Related Art

U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,942 describes a trash collection bag that is mountedto the underside of a folding stadium type seat. When the seat is foldedup the bag flexes back toward the seat to allow unobstructed passage.When the seat is folded down for use the bag swings forward for easyaccess.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a stadium seat wastereceptacle that can be easily mounted to the back of a stadium seat foruse by the person seated behind the stadium seat

A further object of the invention is to provide a waste receptacle thatdoes not obstruct passage but is easily opened and closed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a trash bagmountable to a stadium seat that can carry advertising or decorationviewable by the person seated behind the stadium seat.

Further and additional objects will appear from the description,accompanying drawings, and appended claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a trash bag removably mountable to a stadiumseat for collecting debris that otherwise would be deposited on thefloor of an entertainment stadium. The trash bag comprises a front paneland a rear panel affixed along three sides. The trash bag can betransparent to enable a worker to determine at a glance whether the bagneeds to be emptied.

The front panel has a top edge, a bottom edge and opposing side edges.The rear panel has a top edge, a bottom edge and opposing side edges anda seat facing side that faces away from the front pane. The front andrear panels are affixed by a heat seal or other means along their bottomedges and their side edges to define an open mouthed receptacle. Thefront and rear panel side edges can slope inward to create a coneeffect.

The front and rear panels have the same horizontal dimension, but therear panel has a greater vertical dimension so that the rear panel topedge extends above the top edge of the front panel. The trash bagfurther comprises a collar panel defined as that part of the rear panelthat extends above the top edge of the front panel. The collar panel hasa seat facing side that can bear advertising, a trademark or otherindicia.

The trash bag further comprises means for removably attaching the bag toa seat back. The attachment means can be a layer of adhesive extendingacross the collar panel on the seat facing side of the rear panel and aremovable non-adhesive strip overlaying the layer of adhesive; acarrying handle affixed to the bag near the rear panel top edge andconfigured to loop over the stadium seat; a hook and loop type fasteningsystem or any suitable means.

The front panel and/or rear panels near their bottom edges can be isporous, or can have small holes to allow water to pass through in theevent of rain.

THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a stadium seat trash bag accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the stadium seat trash bag of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the stadium seat trash bag of FIG. 1 inuse.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a second embodiment of a stadiumseat trash bag according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of a third embodiment of a stadiumseat trash bag according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning to the drawings, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 one embodimentof the stadium seat trash bag 10 of the present invention. The purposeof the trash bag 10 is to collect debris that normally is deposited onthe floor of an entertainment stadium while providing an advertising ordecorative medium.

The trash bag 10 comprises a front panel 12 and a rear panel 14 affixedalong their bottom edges 16 and side edges 18 to provide an open mouthedreceptacle. The front and rear panels 12, 14 have a similar lateral(horizontal) dimension, but the rear panel 14 has a greater verticaldimension so that its top edge 15 extends above the top edge 13 of thefront panel 12. As a result, the bag 10 includes a collar panel 20defined as that part of the rear panel 14 that extends above the topedge 13 of the front panel 12. The collar panel 20 preferably is abouttwo inches high and extends across the top of the bag 10. The collar 20panel provides easier access to the inside of the bag 10 and preventsthe user from contacting the seat 22 on which the bag 10 is mounted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the bag 10 is anchored to a stadium seat back 22 bythe collar panel 20. The collar panel 20 is stretched across the back ofthe stadium seat back 22 so that the bag 10 hangs in front of theintended user 24 for the purpose of collecting peanut shells and othersmall debris.

Preferably the bag 10 comprises a mild adhesive strip 26 that extendsacross the collar panel 20 on the seat facing side of the rear panel 14,as shown in FIG. 2. The adhesive strip 26 comprises a layer of adhesiveand a removable plastic strip that covers the adhesive layer until thebag 10 is ready to be mounted to a seat back 22. The adhesive is suchthat the bag 10 can be easily mounted to and removed from the seat 22.The bag 10 may be removed from the seat back 22 by pulling on the collarpanel 20 or other part of the bag 10.

In the preferred embodiment the bag 10 is 14 to 18 inches wide (in thehorizontal dimension) and about 20 inches tall so the trash bag 10 willstretch across the back of any seat 22 measuring 17 inches to 22 inchesacross. The circumference of the bag opening is between about 28 and 36inches.

The seat facing side of the collar panel 20 that affixes to the chair 22may display a name, trademark or other indicia. The trash bag 10 frontpanel 12 may also carry advertising or decorative elements.

In further embodiments of the invention the side edges 18 of the bag mayslope inward at an angle to create a cone effect as shown in FIG. 4. Thefront and/or rear panels near the bottom edge 16 may be porous or havesmall holes 28 to allow for the pass through of water in the event ofrain. The bag 10 can also be made from transparent material so thatcleaning crews know whether a bag must be emptied or replaced.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bag 10 may have an integrally formed carryinghandle 30 that extends across the rear panel 14 near the rear panel topedge 15 and can be looped over the seat back 22. The handle is definedby parallel perforations 32 near the rear panel top edge 15 and may beused instead of the adhesive strip 26 for mounting the bag 10 to theseat back 22. In this embodiment the handle 30, and thus the horizontaldimension of the bag near the rear panel top edge 15, must besufficiently wide so that the handle 30 can extend over a seat back 22.

In still further modifications of the invention the stadium seat trashbag 10 may be attached to the seat back with a hook and loop typefastening system.

Other modifications and alternative embodiments of the invention arecontemplated which do not depart from the scope of the invention asdefined by the foregoing teachings and appended claims. It is intendedthat the claims cover all such modifications that fall within theirscope.

1. A trash bag removably mountable to a stadium seat, the trash bagcomprising: a front panel having a top edge, a bottom edge and opposingside edges; a rear panel having a top edge, a bottom edge and opposingside edges and a seat facing side that faces away from the front panel;the front and rear panels being affixed along their bottom edges andtheir side edges to define an open topped receptacle; the front and rearpanels having the same horizontal dimension; the rear panel having agreater vertical dimension so that the rear panel top edge extends abovethe top edge of the front panel; the trash bag further comprising acollar panel defined as that part of the rear panel that extends abovethe top edge of the front panel; the trash bag further comprisingattachment means for removably attaching the bag to a seat back.
 2. Thetrash bag of claim 1 wherein the front panel bears advertising or otherindicia.
 3. The trash bag of claim 1 wherein the bag is transparent. 4.The trash bag of claim 1 wherein a the attachment means comprises alayer of adhesive extending across the collar panel on the seat facingside of the rear panel and a removable non-adhesive strip overlaying thelayer of adhesive.
 5. The trash bag of claim 1 wherein the attachmentmeans comprises a handle integrally formed in the bag and extendingacross the rear panel near the rear panel top edge, the handle beingdefined by parallel perforations located near the rear panel top edge.6. The trash bag of claim 5 wherein the handle is sufficiently long thatit can be looped over a stadium seat back.
 7. The trash bag of claim 1wherein the attachment means is a hook and loop type fastening system.8. The trash bag of claim 1 wherein the collar panel has a seat facingside bearing indicia.
 9. The trash bag of claim 1 wherein the front andrear panel side edges slope inward.
 10. The trash bag of claim 1 whereinthe front panel or rear panel near their bottom edges is porous.
 11. Thetrash bag of claim 1 wherein the rear panel near the rear panel bottomedge has small holes.
 12. The trash bag of claim 1 wherein the frontpanel near the front panel bottom edge has small holes.